Brussels, 24/07/2002 (Agence Europe) - During a Special Agriculture Committee (SAC), on Tuesday, the representatives of the EU Member States reached an agreement by qualified majority to authorise the European Commission to negotiate a new cereal import regime in the Community, a regime that would take the form of quotas. Only Spain and Sweden were opposed to the proposal and Belgium abstained. The Council has still to officially confirm the agreement, which expires on Friday, by written procedure..
In a statement, the Commission undertakes to: - negotiate as a priority the establishment of wheat quotas while avoiding making any offers that could upset the cereals market (negotiation on rice has finally been disassociated from that on cereals and will begin later); - respect Article 28 of GATT (market access must not be restricted); - keep Member States regularly informed of how discussions within the WTO are developing; and - make new recommendations in Council in the event of failed negotiations.
In another declaration, France, Greece and Ireland call on the Commission to examine short term measures to reestablish Community preference on the subject of imports from the Black Sea. Ukraine, which plans to export 6 million tonnes of cereals in 2002/2003, announced this week that it intends to call on the Commission to grant it an import quota of 2 million tonnes, without customs duty. Last season, Ukraine exported around 3 million tonnes of feeding wheat and barley into the EU.